IDF Retrieves Bodies of Two Israeli Hostages Taken on October 7
On Tuesday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the successful recovery of the bodies of two Israeli hostages abducted on October 7.
The operation to retrieve and bring the bodies back to Israel was executed by personnel from the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 and the 551st Brigade.
Following the recovery and a thorough identification process conducted by medical officials and military rabbis, the families of Eden Zakaria and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado were notified of the situation and informed that the bodies had been repatriated to Israel.
Zakaria, 27, was attending the Supernova music festival in Re’im when she was taken hostage by terrorists. Reports indicate that she was one of 40 festivalgoers abducted during the attack.
Dado, 36, identified by IDF intelligence as a “fallen soldier in captivity,” was serving as a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion when he was killed during the October 7 rampage.
Throughout the operation to reclaim the bodies of Zakaria and Dado, two IDF soldiers were killed in combat, and several others were injured. Among those killed in action were Master Sergeant (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot — the son of war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot — and Master Sergeant (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz.
Regarding the repatriation of the bodies, the IDF stated, “Our national mission is to locate the missing and ensure the return of all hostages home. We are collaborating with security agencies and employing all intelligence and operational means to bring all hostages back home.”